Flashing PiKVM OS image¶

Micro-SD Card Requirements

Minimum 16 Gb, Class 10 recommended

Download the image¶

Download the appropriate SD card image. Select it based on the board, platform, and the video capture device you are using.

Official PiKVM Devices

These images are not suitable for DIY and are intended only for our branded devices.

PiKVM V4
- PiKVM V4 Mini _{- sha1}
- PiKVM V4 Plus _{- sha1}
PiKVM V3
- PiKVM V3 HAT BOX Image, OLED/FAN preactivated _{- sha1}
- PiKVM V3 HAT DIY Assembly _{- sha1}

DIY PiKVM V2 Platform

Raspberry Pi 4
- For HDMI-CSI bridge _{- sha1}
- For HDMI-USB dongle _{- sha1}
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
- For HDMI-CSI bridge _{- sha1}
Raspberry Pi Zero W (obsolete)
- Support has been discontinued due to reaching the End-of-Life of the base board.
  Please join Discord and ask about this in #unofficial_ports channel if you still want to use it.

DIY PiKVM V1 Platform

Raspberry Pi 3
- For HDMI-CSI bridge _{- sha1}
- For HDMI-USB dongle _{- sha1}
Raspberry Pi 2
- For HDMI-CSI bridge _{- sha1}
- For HDMI-USB dongle _{- sha1}
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W
- For HDMI-CSI bridge _{- sha1}
- For HDMI-USB dongle _{- sha1}

Any other combinations for advanced users

Please check the file archives for ready-made image or build the image yourself.

Tip

After inserting the memory card into your computer, ignore request to format. This is not nessessary.

Decompress (if nessessary) and flash the image. Be careful when choosing the device path, it may be different on your machine:

[user@localhost]$ xz --decompress v2-hdmi-rpi4-latest.img.xz
[user@localhost]$ sudo dd if=v2-hdmi-rpi4-latest.img of=/dev/mmcblkX

You can also use dd_rescue or ddrescue.

Download and install the latest version of RPi Imager.
Run RPi Imager:
Press NO FILTERING then CHOOSE OS and select Use custom image at bottom of the list:
After clicking on this item, select the image file (*.img or *.img.xz), then click CHOOSE STORAGE:

Warning

This should already be set to blank though the flashing process from step 7 but its best to double check the advanced settings (CTRL+SHIFT+X), make sure they are blank or the flash will fail.
Insert the memory card into the card reader. Choose the card reader from this list. Be careful and choose the right device:
After choosing the memory card, press the WRITE button. Confirm the operation when you are asked about it:
Refuse customization options.

Warning

The customization is designed for Raspberry OS and will not work in PiKVM OS. If you apply any custom settings, this will cause the image to malfunction.

PiKVM OS has its own settings mechanism, please use it after the flashing if you need to configure Wi-Fi or something similar.
Wait for the process to finish. Get yourself a coffee or do some stretching :) The process may hang at 99% for a long time, this is okay, just wait for it to complete.
Remove the memory card after successful completion. If an error occurs during flashing or booting PiKVM, repeat the process. If the error persists, use a different memory card.